From the Editor's Desk: GS5 & Fire TV

Our reviews are coming, and I can't wait to read them, too

For all the writing I have to do in this job, I still love editing. That's how I started in the publishing biz — actually, I started as an agate clerk, compiling the night's sports scores and standings — and I still enjoy getting my hands on someone else's priceless prose and helping to make it as good as we can make it. And so I'm eagerly awaiting a couple of reviews this week, from a couple of great reviewers.

Alex is working on the Galaxy S5 review while the rest of us break down its features. I've got lot of thoughts about this phone, but I'm going to (mostly) hold off on sharing them until we get the review out the door. I'm still not entirely sure why I like the GS5 more than I did the GS4, and I'm not entirely sure it's for rational reasons. And that's OK. While I believe opinions should be educated, gut feelings shouldn't be ignored, either. There's a lot to like about this phone, I think. And there are a few things that are driving me crazy.

And Andrew is wrapping up the Amazon Fire TV review. (You might have seen his video walkthrough already.) I don't want to steal any thunder here, either, but I'm very impressed by Fire TV. My biggest complaint (and we talked about this on our latest podcast) is that I have to remind myself that an Amazon Prime subscription isn't the same as a Netflix subscription, and I'm still going to have to pay for a lot of content. I understand why, but it's just a different way of thinking. On the other hand, my 7-year-old daughter, Mia, isn't exactly thrilled when she scrolls through, finds something she wants to watch and then sees me shake my head after seeing that it's not on Prime.

Both kids, however, are having a blast with the games. The big "center button" (as I'm calling it for our 3-year-old) is simple for our youngest to use, but games that need the D-pad are a little tougher for her. Still, this $99 gaming/streaming box has become an instant hit in our house.

That makes me even more excited to see what Google brings to the living room later this year. Amazon has already set the bar pretty high.

A few other thoughts on the week that was ...

I'm still not entirely sure how worried to be about Heartbleed. Obviously is a horrible bug, both in the theoretical and actual sense. But it's that we don't actually know if (and what) might have been compromised that's maddening. I've started changing passwords, though.

And if you're not yet using a password manager (I'm a 1Password fan, but I've also used the excellent LastPass), it's time to start.

Same goes for two-factor authentication. Just deal with it. It's a minimal amount of pain given the amount of protection it provides.

A reminder that Google's going to try for Google I/O registration this week. Random selection this year, so everyone cross your fingers. (Not that you didn't have to before, when sever woes had their own sort of selection process.)

I can't stress enough how great it is to be able to stream Coachella to Chromecast. It's a little annoying that you have to do it from a desktop browser, and the West Coast time zone is tough for this aging parent, but still. So good.